United States v. Martinez-Esquivel
United States v. Martinez-Esquivel
Opinion of the Court
Juan Antonio Martinez^-Esquivel appeals his conviction and sentence for illegal
Martinez-Esquivel argues that his sentence is illegal under United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005), because it was imposed pursuant to a mandatory application of the Sentencing Guidelines. In the district court, Martinez-Esquivel objected to the sentence under Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004). He now raises the type of error raised by a second respondent in Booker, Ducan Fanfan, i.e., that imposition of a sentence pursuant to a mandatory Guidelines regime violated his rights. See Booker, 125 S.Ct. at 750, 768-69. The Government avers that Martinez-Esquivel has preserved a Fanfan-type error for appeal and that it, the Government, cannot show that the district court would not have sentenced Martinez-Esquivel differently under an advisory Guidelines regime.
Because the Government admits that it cannot show that the district court would not have sentenced Martinez-Esquivel differently under an advisory Guidelines system, see United States v. Akpan, 407 F.3d 360, 377 (5th Cir. 2005), we vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing in accordance with Booker. Martinez-Esquivel’s argument that the Due Process and Ex Post Facto Clauses bar the application of Justice Breyer’s remedy opinion in Booker is foreclosed by our prior caselaw. See United States v. Scroggins, 411 F.3d 572, 576-77 (5th Cir. 2005).
AFFIRMED IN PART; VACATED IN PART AND REMANDED.
Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.